All 39 of William Shakespeare's plays will be "translated" into modern English thanks to a commission by The Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

The massive project is aiming to have the plays ready for performance in three years, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Those who will be translating the Bard's works have yet to be announced.

The aim of the project is to make Shakespeare's works more understandable for modern audiences.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a not-for-profit professional theatre founded in 1935. The Festival's mission statement follows: "Inspired by Shakespeare's work and the cultural richness of the United States, we reveal our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, deepened by the kaleidoscope of rotating repertory."